Travis
by J. B. Tilton
Summary: Being a starship pilot requires more than setting a course and engaging the warp drive.


ENTERPRISE  
"TRAVIS"  
by J. B. Tilton  
  
Rating: G  
  
Disclaimer: "Star Trek", "Enterprise", and all related   
characters and events are the sole property of Paramount Pictures,   
Inc., except for those specifically created by me for this story.   
This is fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.  
  
* * *  
  
Being a starship pilot requires more than setting a course and   
engaging the warp drive.  
  
* * *  
  
Travis Mayweather made a minor course adjustment to the   
Enterprise. They were still two hours from their destination, but   
piloting a starship required constant attention to detail. It was   
more complicated than locking in a course and engaging the warp drive.  
  
Most people didn't understand the difficulty in piloting such a   
magnificent piece of technology. They didn't realize that the   
destination was only an approximation. Very few celestial bodies   
moved at a constant rate, even planets. They would gain or loose   
speed dependent on the gravitational influence of other bodies around   
them. So plotting a course was only an estimate of where destination   
would be when you arrived there.  
  
There were other things to consider as well. The deflector   
would sweep most space debris out of the path of the ship. But some   
things were too large to be affected by the deflector. Asteroids,   
small planets, even comets would be too large for the deflector to   
push away. So it was up to Travis to plot a course around them.   
Which meant he had to compensate for the course alteration.  
  
One half of one degree might not seem like much. But traveling   
at warp speed, even that minor deviation could spell disaster. It   
could mean the difference between reaching your destination on time or   
ending up in a totally different system. Or worse.  
  
Then there were the various readings to keep an eye on. The   
plasma flow, internal heat generated by the engines, radiation the   
ship was constantly being bombarded with, a dozen things that could   
affect the ships' performance.  
  
Everything had to be in perfect balance. If the engines   
overheated too much, they could shut down or even burn up. An intense   
radiation field could drive lethal to the crew. A malfunctioning   
plasma injector could cause a cascade effect, resulting in a warp core   
breach.  
  
And those weren't the only duties, either. He also had to   
monitor the readings from the ships' sensors. He had to be constantly   
aware of everything around the ship. He had to decide if a minor   
course adjustment was the best choice and what that adjustment had to   
be. Altering course to avoid an asteroid field was no big deal.   
Unless the alteration steered them into the heart of a sun. So he   
also needed to know not only when to make an alteration, but what that   
alteration had to be.  
  
Things became even more precarious inside a planetary system.   
Travis had to account not only for the planets, but their moons as   
well. And the thousands, often hundreds of thousands, of asteroids   
and other celestial bodies present inside any system. Throw in a few   
ships, and the problem was compounded.  
  
Celestial bodies were, more or less, predictable. But another   
ship could be a different matter. The pilot of another ship might   
suddenly make a course change that you didn't anticipate. So Travis   
not only had to be aware of bodies relative to Enterprise, but also   
ones that were relative to other ships as well.  
  
In some ways, being a pilot was the most dangerous job in Star   
Fleet. If T'Pol misread the sensors, (yeah, like that was ever likely   
to happen) she would just take another reading and analyze it. If   
Hoshi mistranslated something, she would usually get another chance.   
Even Malcolm would be able to correct a mistake. If the first torpedo   
missed its' target, he would just fire another one.  
  
But Travis rarely had the luxury of getting a second chance. If   
he flew the ship into an asteroid field, the ship could be so badly   
damaged it might never make it home. Traveling at warp four, he might   
set them on a course directly into a planet or a sun. By the time he   
discovered his mistake, it could be too late.  
  
Not everyone was cut out to be a pilot. At least half of those   
who tried washed out of the training academy. Many others never quite   
got the hang of even the simulator. By the time the cadets were ready   
to actually try piloting a real ship, only abut one-quarter remained.  
  
At least twenty percent couldn't handle a real ship. Simulators   
were great training aids, but piloting a real ship was considerably   
different. There were some things that no simulation, no matter how   
sophisticated, could reproduce. The many quirks and intricacies of   
each ship made them handle just a bit differently.  
  
Travis' piloting class had started with nearly one hundred   
trainees. Only seven had actually graduated. And three of those had   
decided that being a pilot was not for them.  
  
Travis often thought about one of his instructors at the   
academy. His professor had told him that pilots were born, not made.   
Anyone could be taught the mechanics of piloting a ship. But, as his   
professor had told him, you are either born with the talent or you   
weren't. If you weren't, no amount of training would compensate for   
it.  
  
Travis had never understood what his professor had meant by   
that. Piloting a ship had always seemed so natural. He couldn't   
understand how many people had any trouble with it. Now, nearly a   
year after the launch of Enterprise, and the challenges he had come   
across in that time, he understood what his professor had meant.  
  
Travis checked his console again. He made a minor course   
correction to avoid a small asteroid, reduced speed slightly until the   
engine warning indicator dropped out of the red, switched to a backup   
plasma flow regulator, sent an automated message to engineering to   
check it out, and noted what appeared to be a small comet nearby.   
After passing the asteroid, he readjusted course to put them back on   
course for their destination.  
  
Captain Archer stepped out of is ready room and looked around   
the bridge.  
  
"Report," he said.  
  
Travis looked up at the Captain. It was the middle of the   
night. Only a skeletal crew manned the bridge. As the only permanent   
bridge officer currently on duty, Travis was currently in command of   
the conn.  
  
"All quiet, sir," responded Travis.  
  
"What's our ETA?" asked Archer.  
  
"Two hours, forty-three minutes, sir," said Travis.  
  
"Steady as she goes, Mr. Mayweather," said Archer, smiling   
slightly at his primary helmsman.  
  
"Aye, sir," responded Travis as Archer returned to his ready   
room.  
  
Some day, Travis knew he would command his own ship. He hoped   
that when that day came, he would be half the captain that Jonathon   
Archer had already proven he was.  
  
But for now, Travis Mayweather was the primary helmsman for   
Enterprise. In some respects, the single, most important position in   
Star Fleet Command.  
  
The End  
  
If you've enjoyed this story, you can find more "Enterprise"   
stories at my website, www.geocities.com/aramath/. You can also post   
your own "Enterprise" stories if you like to write fan fiction. 


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